Push finally comes to shove, punch and a superhero rumble: Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is coming to 4,000-plus theatres near everyone in North America on March 25. Not to mention the world, with Mexico City getting it first on March 19.

Conservative estimates peg the opening weekend box office in the U.S. and Canada at $110 million. Gonzo predictions suggest an upper end of $180 million. Regardless, add the North American haul to the international sweepstakes and Batman v Superman will almost certainly roll out to be a $1 billion mega-hit worldwide for Warner Bros.

Oddly, the production has been dogged with negativity from hardcore fans of both Batman and Superman. The casting of Ben Affleck raised their ire, as did bold choices such as 32-year-old Jesse Eisenberg as a youngish and physically slight Lex Luther.

But, for all the fuss, there is enormous reason for optimism. Here are five reasons to get excited:

1 — After a series of false starts, cancelled projects, rejected scripts and years of uncertainty, Batman v Superman is the lynchpin of the launch of the expanded DC Cinematic Universe. It technically is number two in the series, after Snyder’s Man of Steel (2013). But it is supposed to dramatically broaden the entire DC franchise by setting up future films in the 11-film, seven-year cycle that takes us from Man of Steel to the announced release of Green Lantern Corps in 2020.

David Ayer’s Suicide Squad is set for Aug. 5 this summer; Jason Fuchs’ Wonder Woman is coming on June 23, 2017; and Snyder gives us Justice League: Part One on Nov. 17, 2017, with Part Two to follow on June 14, 2019, also with Snyder as director.

Along the way, The Flash is scheduled for March 16, 2018, Aquaman for July 27, 2018, Shazam for April 5, 2019, Cyborg for April 3, 2020, and Green Lantern Corps for June 19, 2020. A solo Batman film with Affleck rumoured to be in the director’s chair will likely come in 2018.

It is critical for Snyder to score with some of those characters — the ones he is introducing on the big screen in Batman v Superman. Not only is this the first time Batman and Superman have appeared together in a live action film, the film also offers the live action debuts of Wonder Woman (breakout Israeli actress Gal Gadot), Aquaman (Hawaiian-born Jason Momoa), The Flash (New Jersey’s Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher, coincidentally another guy from New Jersey). All but Gadot’s Wonder Woman have smaller roles to play in Dawn of Justice, but the tease in each case sets up connections to the wider DC Universe and the stand-along films to come.

2 — Batman v Superman offers a familiar Superman, with Henry Cavill reprising his role from Man of Steel. But the film totally reinvents Batman, with Ben Affleck returning to a superhero movie despite his wretched experience on Daredevil in 2003. Snyder has made it clear that the new film — while “inspired” by Christopher Nolan’s popular Dark Knight trilogy, with Christian Bale as a moody, tortured Batman — goes its own way. It is not based on Frank Miller’s historic graphic novel, The Dark Knight Returns. Specifically, Batman enters into the world that Superman already lives in and that we know from Man of Steel. The trailers suggest that Batman has acquired some interesting superpowers, too. I find all of this intriguing because Nolan had already brilliantly exhausted Miller’s opus and his own imagination in the trilogy. We needed something fresh and different.

3 — Even when Snyder screws up — such as in his insanely sexy action fantasy, Sucker Punch (2011) — his visuals are always dazzling and his action sequences are dynamic. So we can expect something stunning in Batman v Superman. Especially with the mega-budget that Snyder had to work with (some reports have pegged it as high as $250 million).

4 — The teaming of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman in one film is a potentially brilliant twist. The new Batman from Affleck is a wildcard; Cavill’s Superman may be more human than most portrayals of the character, but Superman is inherently a wuss as a do-gooder devoted to saving Planet Earth, often from humanity’s own excesses and idiocies. His alter ego, journalist Clark Kent, actually has perfected the image of the fumbling fool to hide his true identity. So having a femme fatale heroine in a flashy costume (albeit one that has muted colours compared to previous incarnations on TV and in the comics) is absolutely welcome — and perhaps even critical.

5 — Personally, I am pumped for the new Batmobile, among other tricks Snyder & company have up their sleeves for the props in the new film. Supposedly evolving beyond the Tumbler from the Nolan trilogy, this new generation vehicle is massive at 20 feet long and 12 feet wide. This does not sound practical at all but it should be mind-blowing! Having actually had a chance to see the Joker’s car race through the streets of Toronto in Suicide Squad, I want to take the new Batmobile out for a spin.

Thanks to the pending release of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, March is the new May when it comes to Hollywood’s penchant for rolling out its summer fare.

Every year for the past decade, studios have been nudging the summer kickoff earlier and earlier. This is crazy, of course, considering how inclement the spring weather can be, but Hollywood’s ‘summer’ does start now, at least in terms of blockbusters. Even calling it the pre-summer season does not lessen the box office appeal of Batman v Superman — a potential mega-hit — and it is not alone on the schedule. Here are a half dozen other major movies lined up for the coming weeks (in order of release):

2 — The Boss (April 8): Comedy writer-director Ben Falcone once again showcases his wife, Melissa McCarthy, in a larger-than-life role. McCarthy plays an industry titan sent to the slammer for insider trading. When she gets out, life gets even more complicated.

3 — The Jungle Book (April 15): Not to be confused with Andy Serkis’ rival project due in 2017, this one is the Jon Favreau version that re-imagines the beloved Disney animation as a live-action adventure.

4 — Barbershop: The Next Cut (April 15): Formerly a haven for men, the barbershop itself has gone co-ed while the neighbourhood is under threat. So Calvin (played again by Ice Cube) leads his staff in some serious social action amid the comic turns.

5 — The Huntsman: Winter’s War (April 22): Chris Hemsworth returns to the title role — without his Snow White — to once again face a mighty foe in Charlize Theron’s Ravenna, the Evil Queen.

6 — Keanu (April 29): The title character is a kidnapped kitty, not the Canadian movie star. Friends pose as drug dealers to try to get the purloined pussycat back in Peter Atencio’s comedy.